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Cancer biologist and hematologist-oncologist Chi Van Dang has been appointed director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, effective September 1. Dang has been a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the departments of Medicine, Cell Biology, Oncology, Pathology, and Molecular Biology and Genetics. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dang's laboratory has contributed to the understanding of the MYC cancer gene, a central transcription factor in many different human cancers. His group documented the function of MYC in regulating microRNAs that have been implicated in tumorigenesis, and his laboratory established the first mechanistic link between MYC and cellular energy metabolism, contributing to the concept that genetic alterations reprogram tumors to render them addicted to certain fuel sources.

Ching-Hon Pui, a leader in the research and treatment of pediatric leukemia at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, will receive the Henry M. Stratton Medal from the American Society of Hematology in December. Pui played a key role in raising cure rates of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, from about 70% in the early 1980s to about 90% today.

Also in December, David G. Nathan, president emeritus at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will receive the Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology, the American Society of Hematology's highest honor. The award recognizes his outstanding teaching, pioneering research, and excellence in clinical care.